A reproducing kernel Hilbert space log-rank test for the two-sample problem

Weighted log‐rank tests are arguably the most widely used tests by practitioners for the two‐sample problem in the context of right‐censored data. Many approaches have been considered to make them more robust against a broader family of alternatives, including taking linear combinations, or the maximum among a finite collection of them. In this article, we propose as test statistic the supremum of a collection of (potentially infinitely many) weighted log‐rank tests where the weight functions belong to the unit ball in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS). By using some desirable properties of RKHSs we provide an exact and simple evaluation of the test statistic and establish connections with previous tests in the literature. Additionally, we show that for a special family of RKHSs, the proposed test is omnibus. We finalize by performing an empirical evaluation of the proposed methodology and show an application to a real data scenario

A reproducing kernel Hilbert space log-rank test for the two-sample problem

Weighted log‐rank tests are arguably the most widely used tests by practitioners for the two‐sample problem in the context of right‐censored data. Many approaches have been considered to make them more robust against a broader family of alternatives, including taking linear combinations, or the maximum among a finite collection of them. In this article, we propose as test statistic the supremum of a collection of (potentially infinitely many) weighted log‐rank tests where the weight functions belong to the unit ball in a reproducing kernel Hilbert space (RKHS). By using some desirable properties of RKHSs we provide an exact and simple evaluation of the test statistic and establish connections with previous tests in the literature. Additionally, we show that for a special family of RKHSs, the proposed test is omnibus. We finalize by performing an empirical evaluation of the proposed methodology and show an application to a real data scenario

An ACO-based Hyper-heuristic for Sequencing Many-objective Evolutionary Algorithms that Consider Different Ways to Incorporate the DM's Preferences

Many-objective optimization is an area of interest common to researchers, professionals, and practitioners because of its real-world implications. Preference incorporation into Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) is one of the current approaches to treat Many-Objective Optimization Problems (MaOPs). Some recent studies have focused on the advantages of embedding preference models based on interval outranking into MOEAs; several models have been proposed to achieve it. Since there are many factors influencing the choice of the best outranking model, there is no clear notion of which is the best model to incorporate the preferences of the decision maker into a particular problem. This paper proposes a hyper-heuristic algorithm—named HyperACO—that searches for the best combination of several interval outranking models embedded into MOEAs to solve MaOPs. HyperACO is able not only to select the most appropriate model but also to combine the already existing models to solve a specific MaOP correctly. The results obtained on the DTLZ and WFG test suites corroborate that HyperACO can hybridize MOEAs with a combined preference model that is suitable to the problem being solved. Performance comparisons with other state-of-the-art MOEAs and tests for statistical significance validate this conclusion

Phosphoglycerate mutase, 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase, creatine kinase and enolase activity and isoenzymes in breast carcinoma

We have compared the levels of phosphoglycerate mutase (EC 5.4.2.1), 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase (EC 3.1.3.13), creatine kinase (EC 2.7.3.2) and enolase (EC 4.2.1.11) activities and the distribution of their isoenzymes in normal breast tissue and in breast carcinoma. Tumour tissue had higher phosphoglycerate mutase and enolase activity than normal tissue. Creatine kinase activity was higher in seven out of 12 tumours. In contrast 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase activity was lower. Phosphoglycerate mutase, enolase and 2,3-bisphosphoglycerate phosphatase presented greater changes in the oestrogen receptor-negative/progesterone receptor-negative breast carcinomas than in the steroid receptor-positive tumours. Determined by electrophoresis, type BB phosphoglycerate mutase, type BB creatine kinase and αα-enolase were the major isoenzymes detected in normal breast tissue. Types αγ and γγ enolase, types MB and MM phosphoglycerate mutase were detected in much lower proportions. In tumours a decrease of phosphoglycerate mutase isoenzymes possessing M-type subunit and some increase of enolase isoenzymes possessing γ-type subunit was observed. No detectable change was observed in the creatine kinase phenotype. © 2000 Cancer Research Campaig

IFE Plant Technology Overview and contribution to HiPER proposal

HiPER is the European Project for Laser Fusion that has been able to join 26 institutions and signed under formal government agreement by 6 countries inside the ESFRI Program of the European Union (EU). The project is already extended by EU for two years more (until 2013) after its first preparatory phase from 2008. A large work has been developed in different areas to arrive to a design of repetitive operation of Laser Fusion Reactor, and decisions are envisioned in the next phase of Technology Development or Risk Reduction for Engineering or Power Plant facilities (or both). Chamber design has been very much completed for Engineering phase and starting of preliminary options for Reactor Power Plant have been established and review here

Evaluation of agraz consumption on adipocytokines, inflammation, and oxidative stress markers in women with metabolic syndrome

ABSTRACT: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is characterized by increased oxidative stress and a pro-inflammatory state. Vaccinium meridionale Swartz (known as “agraz”) is a berry rich in polyphenolic compounds with demonstrated antioxidant activity and anti-inflammatory effects in preclinical studies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of agraz consumption on inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in women with MetS. Forty women with MetS (47 ± 9 years) were randomly assigned to consume daily either 200 mL of agraz nectar or placebo over four weeks in a double-blind, cross-over design study, separated by a 4-week washout period. Metabolic and inflammatory markers in serum and antioxidant/oxidative stress markers in serum and urine were assessed at the end of each period. Serum antioxidant capacity measured by the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method was significantly higher (p = 0.028), while urinary 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) was lower (p = 0.041) after agraz consumption, compared to placebo. In conclusion, consumption of agraz during four weeks increased serum antioxidant capacity and decreased a marker of DNA oxidative damage in women with MetS, compared to placebo. These results suggest that agraz consumption may play a protective role in patients with MetS

Effect of Agraz (Vaccinium meridionale Swartz) on high-density lipoprotein function and inflammation in women with metabolic syndrome

ABSTRACT: Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is associated with low-grade inflammation and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) dysfunction. Polyphenol-rich foods may improve these alterations. Agraz is a fruit rich in polyphenols (mainly anthocyanins); however, there is limited information about its effects on human health. We evaluated the effects of agraz consumption as compared to placebo on HDL function and inflammation in women with MetS. Forty volunteers (25–60 years) were included in this double-blind crossover study. Women consumed agraz or placebo over 4 weeks; separated by a 4-week washout period. HDL function (apoliprotein-A1; paraoxonase 1 (PON1) activity; cholesterol efflux capacity), oxidative stress (myeloperoxidase (MPO), advanced oxidation protein products) and inflammatory markers (serum cytokines/chemokines and peripheral blood mononuclear cell nuclear factor-kB) were measured after each period. Compared to placebo, agraz consumption did not significantly change any of the biomarkers measured. Interestingly, only after agraz period there were significant positive correlations between PON1 activities and cholesterol efflux. Additionally, there were significant inverse correlations between changes in inflammatory markers and HDL function markers and positive correlations with oxidative markers. Although polyphenol-rich foods have been shown to be beneficial for certain conditions; polyphenol-rich agraz fruit consumption did not impact inflammation and HDL function in the current study of women with MetS

Plasma–wall interaction in laser inertial fusion reactors: novel proposals for radiation tests of first wall materials

Dry-wall laser inertial fusion (LIF) chambers will have to withstand strong bursts of fast charged particles which will deposit tens of kJ m−2 and implant more than 1018 particles m−2 in a few microseconds at a repetition rate of some Hz. Large chamber dimensions and resistant plasma-facing materials must be combined to guarantee the chamber performance as long as possible under the expected threats: heating, fatigue, cracking, formation of defects, retention of light species, swelling and erosion. Current and novel radiation resistant materials for the first wall need to be validated under realistic conditions. However, at present there is a lack of facilities which can reproduce such ion environments. This contribution proposes the use of ultra-intense lasers and high-intense pulsed ion beams (HIPIB) to recreate the plasma conditions in LIF reactors. By target normal sheath acceleration, ultra-intense lasers can generate very short and energetic ion pulses with a spectral distribution similar to that of the inertial fusion ion bursts, suitable to validate fusion materials and to investigate the barely known propagation of those bursts through background plasmas/gases present in the reactor chamber. HIPIB technologies, initially developed for inertial fusion driver systems, provide huge intensity pulses which meet the irradiation conditions expected in the first wall of LIF chambers and thus can be used for the validation of materials too

Kothe dual of Banach lattices generated by vector measures

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